Dash to escape quarantine zone
The news alert flashed on to the phones of Padua University students out drinking on Saturday night. They drained their glasses and did what thousands of others in northern Italy were doing – dashed to the nearest railway station and caught the first train south.
By the time Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister, posted his quarantine decree on Twitter, just before 4am Sunday, trains from the ‘‘red zones’’ were bursting with people wearing improvised masks and rubber gloves. Newspapers beat the official announcement by several hours, prompting the exodus from the wealthy north.
Conte said the decree imposed ‘‘reduced mobility’’ on Lombardy and parts of Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Le Marche, in the east. People travelling for valid work or health reasons would be allowed to pass, but they might have to explain their reasons to police or other public officials controlling the borders. Essential goods would clearly need to continue flowing.
‘‘For Lombardy and for the other northern provinces that I have listed, there will be a ban for everybody to move in and out of these territories and also within the same territory,’’ Conte said. ‘‘Exceptions will be allowed only for proven professional needs, exceptional cases and health issues.’’
The decree did not spell out how it might apply to holidaymakers visiting from abroad, although tourism would presumably not qualify as an urgent necessity justifying entry into the ‘‘red zone’’, which included Milan, the financial capital, and Venice, one of the country’s prime tourist attractions.
Michele Emiliano, governor of the southern region of Puglia, appealed to anyone travelling south to stay away. ‘‘You are carrying into the lungs of your brothers and sisters, of your grandparents, uncles, cousins, parents the virus that has buckled the health service of northern Italy,’’ he said. ‘‘Stop and turn back.’’
In a video message to the nation Conte assured citizens that Italy would pull through, but that certain sacrifices would be necessary in the meantime.
Aside from the logistical difficulties of imposing a curfew on a population of 16 million people, there was considerable confusion as to when it took effect and what it really meant.
Press officers in the prime minister’s office and the foreign and interior ministries were unable to clarify yesterday and the foreign ministry’s website wouldn’t open.
The decree bans mass gatherings, orders shopping malls to stay shut at the weekend and stipulates that people can frequent bars and restaurants only as long as they can stay at least one metre from all other customers.
Church services, weddings and funerals have been suspended until April 3. Serie A football matches went ahead yesterday behind closed doors, with growing calls for the championship to be suspended.
Pope Francis livestreamed the noon Angelus prayer in order to discourage crowds from gathering in St Peter’s Square. The Pope, who has been recovering from a cold, described the situation as ‘‘a little strange’’ and said he was ‘‘caged’’ in the papal library. He prayed for the victims of coronavirus and those who assisted them before appearing briefly at his window to salute the sparse crowds.
Violence was spreading in Italian jails amid fears that the infection would take hold within them and at restrictions on visiting. The protests began in Salerno on Saturday and reached Naples, Frosinone, Alessandria and Modena yesterday, where inmates were pictured on the roof with smoke rising in the background.
Yesterday evening, trains and planes were still operating but were almost empty. Alitalia, the national carrier, said it would operate only domestic flights from Milan’s Linate airport. Royal Air Maroc cut flights to Milan and Venice. SAS and Norwegian suspended services last week. – The Times